Cheap keyboard micro-review: Logitech K200

[omf]

I'll make this quick!

I've been looking for a cheap keyboard with the following minimum requirements:

• Cheap!
• Readily available (unlike, say, a Realforce)
• Standard US layout
• Standard INSERT/HOME cluster layout
• Standard Function key layout
• A few media keys a bonus, but not required

It's surprisingly difficult to meet those requirements these days!  Everyone tries to do something really funky with the INSERT/HOME cluster, for example (giant DELETE key, anyone?) or use those awful "application-specific" function keys.

Anyway, I saw the Logitech K200 recently (actually, I first saw it on one of the Chinese sites linked to here) and thought it might fit the bill.  Here's the product page: Loitech "Media Keyboard" K200

As you can see, with the exception of a very slightly curved bottom side and somewhat-smaller-than-average function keys (in order to accommodate the media keys, no doubt - why can't they just make the case slightly bigger??) it's a very vanilla keyboard.  Yay!

Importantly, it's available for less than $20 on Amazon (and many other online retailers).

So I received the keyboard late last week and have been using it the last few days.

Here are some pictures:

Those media keys - which do come in handy:


Some of us do use that 'tenkey'... Also, one of my hairs...


I'm no professional, but I'd say that's a rubber-dome key.  Also, note that the lettering on the keys seems to be painted on?  You can see a black outline around the white lettering.


Key underside.  Exciting!


Note that the feet say "8°".  I've never seen the angle specified like that before.


Made in China.  Who would've guessed?


So how is it?  Pretty decent!  The keys have a nice, rubber-dome-esque 'pop' to them, which I happen to like.  It's also nearly silent, which is a plus in the environments I work in.  It looks pretty decent, IMO.  And it meets all of my initial requirements.

Negatives: Some of the keys squeak - something I plan on fixing with some grease. Very little key travel, but I think this is something you just get used to.  And you can't impress your friends with the sheer cost of the thing...


Overall: RECOMMENDED for those cases where you need something cheap and simple.

[Mazora]

Thanks for posting this: It reminds me of terrible experiences I had in the past with these kind of keyboards, now I'll go hug one of my mech

[The Solutor]

Thanks for posting this: It reminds me of terrible experiences I had in the past with these kind of keyboards, now I'll go hug one of my mech

Never generalize, the logitech with the perfect stroke mechanism are on par, if not better than many mechs, they look not too different from this one but are very different under the hood.

[omf]

Thanks for posting this: It reminds me of terrible experiences I had in the past with these kind of keyboards, now I'll go hug one of my mech

Wow!  Did they steal your women and run over your dogs??

[AgentHeavy]

Never generalize, the logitech with the perfect stroke mechanism are on par, if not better than many mechs, they look not too different from this one but are very different under the hood.

I don't know what mechs keyboards you are using then.
I have a Tarantula and a G15. They are not terrible but the feeling is quite bad and they are expensive !

[escargot]

I own the old "media keyboard" from Logitech and have been using it since my Model M died on me. I can't really understand now why I liked it in the first place. It's awful to type on, the keycaps attach mechanism is terribly designed, all the keys wobble on the board, specially the bigger ones (my backwards inverted-L enter key has around 30º of lateral 'wobbling'). It gets really dirty after a while, and dust and everything gets into the rubber domes.
Disassembling it is a pain in the ass, since it has more than 15 screws and from two different sizes. Yeh, I know, disassembling a keyboard is not quantum physics, but still, so many screws for a keyboard is stupid.

Dunno, I'm wondering of buying a cheap rubber dome keyboard to survive for the next month before I can get a mech keyboard and I'm probably not going for logitech.